Water

When you live in Florida as long as my family has, you respect water.

Water can be your friend, providing relief from the scorching sun.  Who doesn't have fond memories of taking a dip in the lake, or gulping cool water from the garden hose after a hard afternoon of playing with your neighborhood friends?

But, water can also cause an awful lot of damage.  And, it's better to prepare for the worst if you want to preserve your genealogical records around here.

I can think of two examples from my own family history.

The "good example" was my maternal grandmother Ruth (Norton) Gleeson.  Everyone knew about the little red suitcase she kept in the coat closet at her home in Audubon Park.  In times of crisis, or threat of hurricane, we all knew that suitcase went with us.  Because, inside were all the important family documents, secured inside a series of Ziploc bags.  

My grandmother died in 1995, but that little red suitcase has survived and is a treasure trove of genealogical information.  (Thanks, Grandma G!)

The "bad example" was my great great grandparents William and Lola (Blakesley) Morgan.  He was a cowboy who worked the Chisholm Trail.  She was known for both her penmanship and for being a good listener.  According to family legend, William told Lola all his stories of riding the range from Texas thru Indian Territory to the railheads in Kansas, including a run-in with the legendary Bat Masterson.  She dutifully recorded them for posterity.  When they moved here from Missouri in 1907, they put this precious record along with many of their other possessions inside a wooden barrel and loaded it onto a southbound train.  Unfortunately, that old barrel was not watertight.   You can guess what happened to those precious tales . . . 

#52Ancestors